It's Precisely Because I Like You That We're Not Lovers

Even knowing these feelings had been deliberately guided, she still acknowledged their sincerity. In that regard...

"We're the same..."

She gently murmured, caressing the ornate patterns on the ticket.

Because I Like You, We Aren't Lovers

After everything had been laid bare, Sakura and you came to understand each other better, and you became clearer about the strange feelings between you—although you both knew they were merely the result of someone's deliberate guidance, neither of you cared about that as much anymore.

Well... although that was what you said, perhaps there was still a slight reservation in your hearts. Your relationship had only taken half a step forward without truly reaching that point, creating a kind of beauty that made people anxious just watching it. Um... perhaps "reservation" should more accurately be called "shyness"?

When the appointed day arrived, you brought Sakura to the city where Eden was holding her concert. Besides enjoying Eden's Singing Voice, you explored quite a few places together. At least for that time, the two of you were not the feared assassin duo, but merely friends who liked each other yet had not come together for various reasons.

It was worth mentioning that at Eden's concert, two young boys sat beside you. One had striking white hair, while the other wore his gray hair long.

The white-haired boy was incredibly enthusiastic and gave off a sunny impression. When he took his seat, he rather familiarly greeted you, leaving a deep impression on you.

The gray-haired boy, meanwhile, appeared quiet. His personality seemed entirely opposite to that of his friend. Though you could sense his emotional fluctuations, he did not show them clearly, forming a sharp contrast with the friend beside him whose emotions were practically written all over his face.

It was rather unusual... and interesting, seeing people with such different personalities together.

So this was friendship...

But time off always passed quickly. More assignments arrived, still several assassination missions, and they were hardly difficult for the two of you—although subtle changes had occurred in your relationship, you both maintained a proper attitude while working.

After that, some more time passed in fragments... and during that period, something caught your attention... or rather, a news report?

A major accident had occurred in Eastern Europe. A nuclear power plant seemed to have exploded? At least, that was what the news claimed, but you vaguely felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, not long afterward, the people above informed you of the incident's unusual nature and planned to arrange for you to enter a new organization—Moth to Fire, an organization responsible for handling a special disaster called Honkai.

You were not being sent in as undercover agents or anything like that. You were simply joining. In other words, you represented Poison Chrysalis as you entered Moth to Fire, making it more of a symbolic gesture. Naturally, anyone who investigated would understand that your entry was a show of force and declaration from Poison Chrysalis—the people above intended to use the two of you, these sharp "blades," to gain greater influence.

But for now, none of that had anything to do with you. Your lives were no different from before. You had merely changed from assassins who needed to remain hidden into a special operations unit that could operate openly, while the missions you carried out remained much the same.

If anything, you had become freer. Once you could enter this place under your real identities, it meant Poison Chrysalis had joined Moth to Fire in a relatively official capacity. The following struggle for influence would have to take place within the rules, while methods Outside of rules like the two of you needed to be used less often... at least, they could not be used at this stage.

Other than daily training and necessary missions, you had almost nothing to do. Aside from setting aside time to study the latest information on Honkai, all you could do was accompany each other on walks around the base.

Unexpectedly, you encountered her again here—Elysia.

You still remembered that afternoon. Sakura and you were strolling through Moth to Fire's training base with no particular destination, simply walking around. Many people had already grown used to you both, since you were almost always together and came and went in pairs. Although most colleagues had never confirmed it with you, they still regarded you as one of the few couples in the base.

Then that nimble pink elf appeared. With pink hair similar to Sakura's and a faint, distinctive scent, she lightly approached you.

She first exchanged a few words with Sakura. Her initiative and somewhat erratic topics left Sakura a little overwhelmed.

Perhaps noticing that Sakura could not quite keep up with her enthusiasm, or perhaps intentionally, she turned her gaze toward you.

When you saw her smile at you, you realized she had recognized you. Her earlier conversation with Sakura had merely been to learn what your "new friend" was like.

Sure enough, she spoke, opening with "Long time no see," and you replied with something similar.

Seeing how familiar the two of you seemed, Sakura was somewhat startled.

She invited Sakura and you to walk with her, even if only for a casual stroll—she wanted to talk with you, a friend she had not seen in a long time.

You readily agreed, and Sakura nodded without objecting.

You talked about many things along the way. Though Elysia did most of the talking while Sakura and you listened, you occasionally responded as well—just like before.

Even when Elysia deliberately guided the conversation toward Sakura and you, you mostly brushed it off vaguely.

She could tell you did not want to say much, so she did not press further. Reuniting was already something worth celebrating; there was no need to dig too deeply into what the other had experienced. For you, simply seeing each other again was the happiest thing.

Yet as the conversation continued, Sakura's mood gradually sank. Elysia showed concern, but Sakura only said she was fine.

Sakura noticed your attention toward Elysia, and she could also sense your unease and awkwardness around Elysia—you even ate candy less frequently.

Combined with Elysia's pink hair, so similar to her own, Sakura understood who Poison Chrysalis had hoped she would replace in your heart, as well as why Poison Chrysalis had chosen her as the "sheath."

Because she understood, she felt somewhat hurt.

In the end, perhaps noticing the awkward atmosphere, or perhaps because she truly had other matters to attend to, Elysia said goodbye and left.

Silence spread between Sakura and you, but soon, you returned to your previous atmosphere, strolling seemingly casually through the base as if reuniting with Elysia had been nothing more than a small interlude.

But you both knew your lives would certainly change from then on, and your relationship... might change because of it as well.

The people above at Poison Chrysalis probably had not anticipated it. They had merely joined a special organization to gain greater influence, yet it resulted in you reuniting with Elysia. Among the countless people in this vast world, you met again by such a coincidence, at such a delicate moment.

It happened right when Poison Chrysalis was trying to gain more power within Moth to Fire. This special organization, led by the United Nations and formed from numerous gathered groups, was an excellent stage for Poison Chrysalis. Though they could not beat others through methods within the rules, they were skilled at playing dirty. At worst, they could flip the table—directly eliminate their opponents. And the sharpest "blade" in their hands happened to excel at precisely that. As long as no evidence was left behind, it was fine.

But now... with Elysia appearing as such an unexpected variable, the people above would likely begin reconsidering things. They knew perfectly well how much Elysia meant to you—it was a knot they could not erase despite spending countless methods and time, even resorting to drugs that directly damaged the nerves. In the end, they had no choice but to seek out a suitable "sheath" to replace Elysia's place in your heart.

Unfortunately, just when that plan had finally begun to show progress and success was nearly in sight... it failed.

In that case, they would squeeze every last drop of value from you, the "blade," and the corresponding "sheath."

Thus, your missions became much heavier. Not only did you have to accept Poison Chrysalis's assassinations targeting people, you also had to take on Moth to Fire's missions concerning the special disaster—Honkai.

After all, you were among the few who could withstand Honkai Energy corrosion—that was what they said.

The "privileges" you had once possessed were gradually taken away as well. They did not revoke them outright; instead, they stalled or baited you with information about those people, forcing you to keep working. After all, they knew your hatred for those people equaled the value you placed on Elysia.

Without realizing it, Sakura and you were separated and given teams of your own to lead... There was no crack in your relationship, but heavy assignments often forced you to carry out missions separately. Sakura had not even returned to see Ling for a long time and could only rely on the pendant you had given her to communicate with Ling remotely.

Yes, that cherry blossom pendant you had given her was a special communication terminal with a dedicated paired channel. As long as it connected to a network, it could call the other person. It was ideal for two people to whisper private words to each other. Naturally, that function could also be turned off to prevent certain "accidents."

It also retained the ordinary function of projecting stored video footage, allowing Sakura to look at memories of herself and Ling through the pendant whenever she missed Ling but her surroundings and schedule did not allow her to visit—naturally, you were in some of those memories too.

Sometimes, you felt Sakura's behavior was unnecessary and even gave you a vague feeling that it was not good. But according to Sakura, it helped calm her emotions and strengthen her resolve, so you let her do as she wished.

Of course, during brief breaks after completing missions, you could still meet at Moth to Fire's base, then take aimless walks together through the facility, or have a few low-alcohol drinks at the base bar. Neither Sakura nor you liked alcohol much, since it could affect your bodies and, in turn, your performance on missions. Still, having a few drinks occasionally was fine.

Incidentally, Sakura's Cherry Blossom Brew really was delicious, and her cooking was just as good as she had said.

Naturally, Elysia was often there as well. She cherished you, her friend... no, perhaps pitied you would be more accurate. After all, she had failed to help you back then and had indirectly caused Father Enrique's death, so she paid close attention to you.

Naturally, being as observant as she was, she noticed that her appearance had troubled Sakura and you. So she planned to talk to Sakura—she did not want her presence to damage the feelings between Sakura and you. She very much wanted to offer the two of you her finest blessings in that "dreamlike scene," after all~

"That's far enough, Elysia."

Sakura stopped walking and spoke to Elysia, who was ahead of her.

"Whatever you want to say, say it here."

"Eh~ But if we walk just a little farther, we'll reach Sky Garden, you know? It's a place Moth to Fire specially built for everyone to relax and rest. They'll even have alcohol and coffee there later. It's a lovely place for a little break~ Don't you want to take a look?"

Elysia lightly turned around, the pink ponytail tied behind her rising and falling gently.

"The people above built it for themselves. We only get to enjoy it as a side benefit."

Sakura shook her head and said so.

"Honestly, Sakura, don't be so realistic~ Be a little more romantic~"

Elysia leaned slightly closer and said with a smile.

"And maybe he would like that place too, right?"

"..."

"Hehe~ Sakura, you're really easy to understand, aren't you~?"

Smiling, Elysia started walking again toward their original destination.

After hesitating for a while, Sakura ultimately chose to follow.

When they entered Sky Garden, the hurried footsteps outside were shut out, leaving only comfortable silence and the fragrant scent of flowers and grass.

"Hmm hmm~ Hmm hmm~?"

Elysia softly hummed as she strolled lightly through the garden, her pink ponytail swaying behind her like a fairy among the flowers.

"All right, all right~ If I keep stalling, people will start disliking me. I would never do something like that~"

After finding a place to rest, Elysia spoke.

"So? Elysia, why did you ask me to come?"

"Oh, just to chat and become a little closer~ Does Sakura dislike me that much?"

"...Not really."

Sakura shook her head. Honestly, Elysia was very likable. Though her excessive initiative could sometimes be difficult to handle, she knew how to control herself. It could be said that she was a very difficult person to dislike.

"I'm just wondering why you specifically came to see me alone."

"Did I interrupt your date with Xi Wang? If so, I'm sorry~"

"...He and I are not that kind of relationship."

Elysia's words left Sakura momentarily speechless. She shook her head, denying it, then added another sentence.

"And don't casually change people's names."

"...I see. I'm sorry."

This time, Elysia's expression stiffened instead, and her voice became slightly subdued.

"But that was his original name, you know? He just changed it later... um..."

She roughly understood why Xi Wang had given up that name. But because she knew, Elysia felt downhearted and carried a trace of guilt toward Xi Wang.

"...I think I understand."

Sakura quickly guessed why Elysia had asked to speak with her.

"Hehe~ Sakura really is smart too~"

Elysia smiled and leaned closer toward Sakura, tilting herself until her face was near Sakura's. Then she curiously asked the Sakura seated beside her.

"So, how much do you know about Wang? I'm really curious, you know? About everything from when you met until now~ You two really seem so close~ Even though you've reached this point and still aren't lovers, it's not just me—so many of our companions are getting anxious just watching you two~"

"...There's nothing to say."

The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched, but she answered that way nonetheless.

"Do you want to keep it all for yourself? How nice~"

"Elysia..."

"Hehe~ All right, I'll stop teasing you~"